Iga Swiatek reveals how she was inspired by Rafael Nadal in Madrid Open final
Rafael Nadal and Iga Swiatek
Iga Swiatek has divulged she took inspiration from tennis legend Rafael Nadal during her enthralling 2024 Madrid Open final victory against Aryna Sabalenka.
The world No 1 explained she was struggling to “loosen up” during the match and recalled Nadal had played a couple of similar matches — citing his epic 2022 Australian Open win as an example.
Swiatek overcame world No 2 Sabalenka 7-5, 4-6, 7-6(7) in a thrilling three-hour-11-minute contest to win the Madrid Open for the first time.
The 22-year-old Pole came from 3-1 down in the third set and saved three championship points deep in the decider before defeating the Belarusian. The four-time Grand Slam champion has now won 20 WTA titles, nine of which have come at WTA 1000 level.
Nadal, who Swiatek has named as her idol, earned one of the most memorable victories of his career against Daniil Medvedev in the 2022 Australian Open final.
The great Spaniard, who was 35 at the time, recovered after trailing by two sets to love – and 2-3, 0-40 on his serve in the third set — to prevail in five sets to win his 21st Grand Slam title. At five hours and 24 minutes, it is the second-longest Major final in history.
Following her dramatic win against Sabalenka on Saturday, Swiatek revealed she was helped by thinking of some of Nadal’s great triumphs during the final.
“For most of the match, I was really trying to loosen up a little bit more. I felt like I can play better because I played better here on my past matches,” Swiatek explained.
“Actually, felt like I need to dig through for these two hours and it didn’t really work. I was, like, ‘Oh, my God, am I going to feel a little bit more loose soon?’ It didn’t really happen, and then after two hours, it did. I was surprised by that.
“Honestly, one thing that came through my mind was actually that I think Rafa had couple of matches like that. Guys have three sets, so they may have a little bit more time on Grand Slams to do that.
“But I remember exactly when he was playing Medvedev in Australia and it clicked for him. It felt like it. He also struggled for a bit of time with some, he was tense and I think stressed.
“I’m not sure because I haven’t talked to him. But it felt like that. That kind of gave me hope that maybe it will click, even after two hours.”
The three-time French Open winner also spoke about the “courageous” approach that helped her come back from the brink of defeat late in the third set.
“Before the tiebreaker, I was, like, well, I was, like, okay, she has a match point. Sometimes it happens that I lose my serve, when it’s 5-4 or something like that,” Swiatek said.
“So I was, okay, whatever. It’s not the first time in my life. I’m just going to go for it. I think I decided to play, like, a fast serve, a big one. I wanted to be courageous in that moment.”